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artsy0wl · 5 months ago

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Someone Who Cares (a Saguaro x Jacq fic)

Synopsis: Can you make sure Jacq eats? He’s been so caught up with work that I think he’s skipped a few meals. Oh, and I’m pretty sure he hasn’t slept in a few days.

It sounded simple enough. It should have been simple enough. But when he got to Jacq’s office, he wasn’t sure if “simple” was the right word. Messy and chaotic fit the scene he was greeted by.

I decided to rewrite this since I wasn’t feeling the direction it was going in.

Can you make sure Jacq eats? He’s been so caught up with work that I think he’s skipped a few meals. Oh, and I’m pretty sure he hasn’t slept in a few days.

It sounded like a simple enough request. If not a bit odd. Clavell wasn’t too invested in the teachers outside of the basics. However, given that Jacq had developed a bond and partnership with the esteemed director, it wasn’t too surprising when Clavell worried about him.

And he had every right to. Though not something the average person would pick up, in hindsight, Saguaro realized that he hasn’t seen Jacq much in the break room or the cafeteria.

So if the director was coming to him to combat that, Sarguaro could understand that. From what Saguaro was told, Jacq ignored Miriam’s concerns, stating he was alright and would grab something to eat later. He told Dendra he has to keep his mind working if he was ever going to get his project done. He even told Hassel that ‘an artist’s work, or I guess I should say biology teacher’s duty, needs to be perfect’.

Clavell must have been desperate if he was asking for Saguaro’s help. His and Jacq’s department were so far apart that Saguaro wondered why the director didn’t ask Raifort first.

Papers scattered across the floor along with several empty cups of, presumably, coffee. Jacq’s Arcanine was curled up and napping next to Jacq while his Farigiraf poked her head in through the nearby window. An Alolan Meowth napped on his table while Jacq picked away at a Pokédex. Jacq was muttering to himself, some kind of technical jargon that Saguaro didn’t particularly care to understand.

Talking Jacq out of his invested was going to be interesting. If not a bit annoying. Clearing his throat, Saguaro entered the room.

“Not very tidy today, are you?”

Chuckling, Jacq took his glasses off and set them on the desk. “A little mess can’t hurt anyone.”

Approaching Jacq’s desk, Saguaro leaned against it. “But skipping out on meals and sleep can.”

Huffing, Jacq leaned forward, folding his arms in the process. “Not you too.”

“Yes, me too.” Saguaro crossed his arms. “You more than anyone should know that your body has needs.”

“And I will… once I get these projects done.”

Grabbing a document, Jacq proceeded to jot some notes down. He then proceeded to pet the Meowth’s head before moving onto the next document. Looking at Jacq’s paperwork, Saguaro changed his tactic.

“What are you working on?”

“Miss Briar wanted to see if I could add a new feature to the Pokédex. She wanted some kind of lore application for the Blueberry Academy students. Specifically on Paradox Pokémon and regional variants for educational purposes. Salvatore wants some insight on this little guy.” Jacq scratched behind the Meowth’s ear. “Apparently he hasn’t been eating much lately despite poving what Salvatore had been giving up until now.” Jacq grabbed a few documents. “Director Clavell needs the results of the Biology midterm by the end of the week and I’m looking into the Herba Mystica sample that Arven brought me.”

“Sounds stressful.”

“Maybe a little, but it’s keeping me busy. Which isn’t that bad, am I right?” Jacq shrugged as the Meowth woke up and stretched out. “Besides, it’ll be worth it when all is said and done.”

“It may be worth it, but I don’t think they want you to overwork yourself in the process.”

“But I need to get it all done.” Jacq let out a deep yawn, rubbing his eyes before grabbing the Pokédex he was working on. “I promised I’d get it done and I can’t let them down.”

“You won’t let anyone down if you take a break.”

Jacq slid his glasses back on. “You don’t know that.”

“Yes I do. None of them would want you to lose your sanity over this. Or your health.”

“I’m fine.”

“You probably can’t even stand up without falling over.”

“I can. Watch me.”

Accepting the challenge, Jacq quickly stood up. Maintaining his balance, he turned to fully face Saguaro with a boastful smirked. But before he could boast about his small win, Jacq’s vision began to blur. Fuzzy particles clouded his line of sight. His ankle rolled, causing Jacq to fall over. Saguaro acted fast, he grabbed Jacq and helped him stand.

“See.”

“I tripped.”

Saguaro rolled his eyes. If Jacq was going to be difficult, he would meet it with equal amounts of stubbornness. The back of Jaq’s coat was grabbed as he was tossed over Saguaro’s shoulder.

“And my hand slipped.”

Jacq’s face turned red as Saguaro picked up the Meowth and vacated the room. “Saguaro!? Put me down!”

“No.”

The first place Saguaro stopped was Salvatore's office, plopping the Meowth in his bed. “Try more seafood oriented food. And bitter berries since they can’t really taste sweet berries.”

Not waiting for a response, Saguaro left Salvatore’s office. Instead, he hauled Jacq over to his dorm room. All the while, Jacq weakly begged for Saguaro to put him down.

He would only get his wish once they got to the room. Once there, Saguaro set Jacq on the bed, removing Jacq’s glasses in the process. But instead of lying down, Jacq sat on the side of the bed. Despite his exhaustion, he wasn’t ready to give up.

Saguaro set the glasses on the counter as he started to look around the kitchen. “Can you give yourself, at least one hour to nap? After that, you’re going to eat, then, will you be allowed to get back to work.”

Jacq continued to sit there, not responding to the request. Not knowing if that was his way of considering it or silently accepting it, Saguaro continued to look around the kitchen. Grabbing a pot and a few ingredients, he decided to make soup. It wouldn’t take long to make and wouldn’t be too hefty on Jacq’s stomach.

“It’s my fault, isn’t it?”

“What is?” A stagnate pause greeted him as Saguaro started chopping some veggies. “What do you think is your fault?”

“That Sada died.”

A quick, firm chop cut through a leek. Shoulders stiffened as Saguaro’s hands landed on the counter. Light eyes fell on Jacq, who refused to move eye contact from the floor.

“Where is this coming from?” More silence. “Jacq?”

“I’m noticing Briar taking an… unhealthy interest in Aera Zero.” Jacq huffed. “It brings back memories. Regrets. Things I should have changed.” He shuttered as he shook his head. “Knowing what happened with Sada, while standing in front of her son makes me feel evil. I could have… should have, said something back then.

Saguaro moved around the counter and sat next to Jacq. His hand gently landed on Jacq’s back. Jacq quietly melted into it. Almost as though he needed physical contact.

“It’s just… every time I look at Arven, I get this gut wrenching feeling in my stomach.” Leaning forward, Jacq crossed his arms over his lap. “He shouldn’t be taught by the man who contributed to her passing.”

“It’s not your fault.” Saguaro denounced. “Arven’s a good kid. Needs a little more practice in the kitchen, but a good kid.” His hand gently motioned around Jacq’s back. “But if he blames anyone, it’s not you.”

“But I-”

“Am a wonderful teacher that anyone would be lucky to have. Excitable and a little air headed, who unconsciously overworks himself, but an honest man.”

Jacq sat up, finally turning to face Saguaro with exhausted distress. “But I’m not. I was part of the problem. I wanted to go on the expedition too. So I should have been the one to say something when Clavell didn’t. Why shouldn’t he mad at me?”

“First of all, Arven’s just a kid. You’re expecting a lot from a kid who’s still got a few years in school. Will he feel resentful for his mother’s decisions? Of course. Will he blame one of the only mentors and parental figures he has because of it? No.” Saguaro’s hand wrapped around Jacq’s shoulders. “Secondly, you have noting to feel guilty over. Yes, you were on the expedition, but if anyone pushed Sada to that point, it would have been her. I don’t think any of us wanted this to happen, but no one could have predicted this. Not even Sada. And thirdly, Sada and Briar are grown women. You could have done everything in your power to stop Sada, and she still could have gone down the same path. Same with Briar presently.”

Holding back tears, Jacq glared at Saguaro, trying to hold back the urge to yell at Saguaro. Knowing he was just trying to help and didn’t deserve to be berated, Jacq knew better. At the same time, he couldn’t bring himself to accept that he was innocent in all of this.

“It can’t be that simple. Someone has to be held accountable and-”

A kiss prevented Jacq from finishing his thought, silencing him. A soft, stunned breath escaped his nostrils as silver eyes widened. When Saguaro pulled back, he took advantage of Jacq’s shock and gently pushed Jacq back, lying him down. With a now red face, jacq glared at Saguaro with confused disbelief.

“You’re not in a clear mental state. If you really want to continue this self inflicted blame, we can afterwards.”

“I never would have thought you had a sweet tooth.”

Four hours later and Jacq finally woke up from his nap. When he did, he was greeted by the scent of coffee. A sweet aroma was in the air as he managed to get himself out of bed with an unceremonious thud. Saguaro had opted out of his soup plan in favor of scones. A preferable alternative to go with the coffee.

“You’re not the only one.” Saguaro chuckled. “What can I say, there’s a softie underneath this cool exterior. Besides, Juliana and Arven got me some of that Sweet Herba Mystica as a little gift and I want to put it to good use.”

“Oh…” Jacq wearily smirked, “that was really nice of them.”

“It really was.”

An awkward silence fell as Jacq’s frame deflated. His glasses fogged up as he took a sip of coffee. When he set it down, Jacq's elbows rested on the table as fingers intertwined in front of Jacq’s face.

“Sada’s death is hitting you deep, isn’t it? And that’s why you’ve been over working yourself, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“And you haven’t told the Director, if I had to guess. Because you know he’d have you take time off if you did.” Jacq nodded. “And you thought you could bury it under work, thinking that no one would suspect anything?” Jacq nodded again causing Saguaro to roll his eyes. “You know, for someone so smart, you are so dumb sometimes.”

Jacq shrugged his shoulders. “It worked.”

“For how long? A week? And only because our esteemed director had an undercover counseling gig with a pompadour and a dream.” Saguaro’s hand reached across the table, grabbing Jacq’s wrist. “You need to take it easy. You can’t go on like this.”

Jacq’s face fell as he yanked his wrist away. “You’re stubborn, you know that?”

Saguaro chuckled. “That’s probably why he asked me to step in. Fight fire with fire. Or, well, stubbornness with stubbornness. Though, what you really need is a few days off and probably some therapy.”

Reaching out a hand, Saguaro offered comfort, hoping Jacq would accept the offer. Jacq eye the hand, cautiously and curiously. Staring at the hand, he was tempted to take it. To resign himself in defeat and take care of himself. Hovering his hand over Saguaro’s for a moment, Jacq quickly pulled it back.

“I’ll consider it, when I’m ready.”

“Frankly, I don’t think you should procrastinate. I’d hate to see how worse this could get for you. Especially, if I knew I could stop it.”

Jacq shrugged with a small sigh before he hunched forward. Using his arms as cushions, he rested his head as he watched Sagusro in silence. His mind was elsewhere while his gaze was perplexed.

“Why did you kiss me?”

Withdrawing his hand, Saguaro frowned. He wasn't shocked by the question. Rather, he had hoped to avoid it for a little longer.

Saguarp sighed. “I don’t know.”

Finding the right words was surprisingly difficult. He knew there was a reason and the last thing he wanted to do was make excuses. But finding said reason felt more difficult than it should have been.

“I mean, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but,” Jacq shrugged, “I wouldn’t have minded dinner first.” He awkwardly chuckled. “I… I’m not mad, I’m just confused.”

Saguaro shook his head, leaning forward. “While I appreciate the sentiment, it wasn’t okay. I forgot about your autonomy in a mindlessly attempted to deescalate the situation.”

“It’s okay, I wasn’t thinking clearly and you were trying to help.”

“It’s really not, but we can sort that out later.”

Jacq hid his face in his arms, sighing. Leaving the conversation there for now, Saguaro watched him. The important thing was trying to help out with the more pressing issue. As a thought occurred to him, Saguaro stood up and moved closer to Jacq, sitting on the edge of the table.

“How can someone learn to better their sandwich making?”

Lifting his face up, Jacq look at him confused. “What?”

“Let’s say I have a student who, despite his best efforts, was having difficulties crafting a well crafted and delectable sandwich for him and his Pokémon. He has all of the ingredients, but let’s sat he’s missing a step. Be it a proper base or adds too much meat and maybe he doesn’t realize it. How might he get help?”

Sitting up, Jacq contemplated the inquiry. “I suppose having a friend, or anyone close for that matter, could offer help. Sometimes it takes another set of eyes to help.”

Saguaro nodded. “Correct. Now, say this person doesn’t want help, be it out of stubbornness or self consciousness. How can this individual help this student?”

Jacq paused. “On the one hand, I’d day give them space. Maybe let them try again knowing that they have someone to help if needed. But,” his head tilted, “there’s nothing wrong with needing help when it’s offered. Especially in moments where it’s necessary. For example, when I was a much younger man, Sada and the director helped me out a lot when I got stuck on a problem. I would be so fixated on or aggravated with what I did wrong that I would miss the solution.” Pausing again, he looked at Saguaro quizzically. “But what does that have to do with any of this?”

“This is an altered analogy where I used Arven as an unnamed example on how working with others can help in the sandwich making process.” He nodded as he recalled the lesson. “In this altered analogy, you are the student that needs help.” Saguaro stood up, his down at Jacq. “I’m also glad you mentioned how our esteemed director and prodigal professor. It’s a good comparison for the stubborn refusal you’ve instilled now,” Pulling his chair over, Saguaro sat down. “You’ve already done your ‘leave them be with someone there if needed’ route. If a but shoddily so given your disregard for people being there to help.” He crossed his legs as he placed his arms on the table. “So we’re now at the ‘offered help’ stage. For Arven, it was cooking with a good friend. For you, it’s finding a way to process your grief while being stuck with the ‘cool’ Home Ec teacher. So tell me,” his hand rested on Jacq’s arm, “how can I help you?”

“Allow me to thank you. I know this wasn't easy.”

Jacq napped on Saguaro’s bed as Saguaro and Clavell hung out in the kitchen. After a day of menial tasks and getting his first therapy session planned, Saguaro suggested that Jacq should catch up on sleep. Saguaro also put in a request for substitutes for his and Jacq’s classes until the end of the week, at least. This would give them a few days to adjust to a new plan.

“Happy to help,” Saguaro mused, “though he still has some things to work through.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised. Internalizing the whole ordeal must have wrecked him mentally. Those kind of wounds take time.”

Saguaro grumbled, nodding as he glanced at Jacq. A few thoughts ran through his mind, one needing to be addressed more than the rest.”

“Was he ever in love? With Sada, I mean?”

Clavell turned his attention to Jacq. “No. If anything, he looked up to her and saw her as an older sister.” With a quizzical expression, he turned his attention back to Saguaro. “Why do you ask?”

Saguaro was quiet for a moment. “I may have overstepped a boundary and kissed him. He brushed it off, but it got me thinking. Since I’ve never seen him date any one, I thought maybe he only really ever loved Sada, even if it was unrequited and Sada being married to Turo.”

Pausing for a moment, Clavell scanned Saguaro as he processed the statement. Once he did, Clavell chuckled, which, in turn, confused Saguaro.

“Trust me, he’s got plenty of dating experience.” Clavell assured. “If I recall correctly, he went to a dance with Raifort in high school and briefly dated Salvatore in college. Which may explain why Salvatore’s more inclined to ask Jacq first for most Pokémon ailments instead of Miriam.” His demeanor shifted slightly. “However, I can understand your concerned curiosity. You took a spontaneous initiative and crossed a barrier you didn’t mean to.”

He turned slightly to get a look at Jacq. His frame tightened slightly as his hand unconsciously pushed his glasses off. Clavell smirked as Jacq sighed.

“He won’t hold it against you.” Clavell assured. “And if I’m being honest, you’re one of the few people I’d trust to date him.”

Saguaro started coughing, trying not to choke on his coffee. “Oh I don’t-”

Clavell chuckled, shaking his head. “Of course not. But if you were, you’d have my support.” Clavell paused as Jacq let out a gasp. “Right now, he needs time. Just promise me you’ll watch out for him.”

“Of course.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sleep for so long.”

“Don’t worry. You needed it.”

Rubbing his eyes, Jacq awkwardly hopped around the kitchen. Opening cabinets, he began looking for a mug. When he spotted one, Jacq tried to grab it, but it was on a shelf too high for him to reach. He let out a strained huff as he boosted himself up on his toes.

A hand reached over him, grabbing the mug for him, setting it on the counter. A towering aura weighed over Jacq, causing him to turn around. Saguaro stood over him, arms closing Jacq off as he silently glared at him.

“Is everything okay?”

Tilting his head, Saguaro leaned down and kissed Jacq’s forehead. A hand held the side of Jacq’s face as the biology professor’s face turned red.

“When you’re ready, I’d like to take you out for lunch.”

#au #fanfic #pokemon #ship fic #pokémon #fanfiction #angst with comfort #jacq #jacq pokemon #saguaro x jacq #saguaro pokemon #saguaro #pokemon scarlet and violet #scarlet and violet #paldea #director clavell #clavell #rarepair #new ship

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waywardstation · 2 years ago

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Maintenance Check

Akari invites a weary Ingo out of the rain to rest and have a hot meal with her, but Ingo realizes Akari needs some help of her own as well.

I wrote this off of a request to let Ingo relax and have a nice meal with Akari in the wake of Heart Full, Bowl Empty’s events, as well as two requests showing how Ingo and/or Akari would deal with a toothache away from the modern-day dental practices they’re used to.

This was supposed to be my last request fic of 2022, but instead it’s my first request fic of 2023!

OR read here on AO3!

Enjoy!

————

The door to Akari’s unit slid open and shut quickly, the rain from outside clinging to Ingo’s coat as water dripped from the brim of his hat.

“You were gone for a while!” Akari commented, looking up from the cooking pot hanging over her unit’s irori; the sunken hearth in the middle of the room was already heated, warming the room and chasing away the chill that had begun to seep into Ingo’s skin. “Did they not have any?”

Ingo shrugged his wet coat off and hung it up with his cap on the wall; he did not want to drip all over Akari’s floors. He plucked a pouch out from one of the coat pockets and brought it over to Akari, handing it to her. “They did have it, but it, ah… took a considerable amount of time to retrieve from their cargo. I apologize for the delay.”

Ingo decided to refrain from telling Akari about how he suspected Volo left him standing in the rain longer than he needed to, searching through the back of the Ginkgo Guild’s covered wagon for quite a time for something so simple as a single sprig of King’s Leaf. It had left lots of awkward but well-meaning smalltalk with Tuli, until Ginter had decided to call out and ask if Volo needed help looking. Only then did Volo come back around the side of the wagon, King's Leaf in hand.

Maybe he shouldn’t have told the merchant that it was for a soup that he was cooking with Akari in her unit - he had come to notice that Volo wasn’t too keen on how much time the teenager spent with him. But technically, it was Volo’s fault for asking about what he planned to use it for in the first place.

“Sorry about that,” Akari took the pouch and pulled the plant out, a bit flattened, but perfectly preserved and dry. She set it down on a thick board beside her and began to cut the vibrant leaves up into smaller pieces, occasionally glancing at one of the hand-written recipe pages of her Pokedex to make sure she was doing it right. “But thanks for getting it! I didn’t know I was out of them, so it saved me some time.”

“Glad to be of service,” Ingo moved to stand closer to the heated irori, and chase away some of the cold aching that stubbornly clung to his limbs. “Is there anything else I can assist with?”

“No, no, it’s ok!” Akari would have waved him off if her hands weren’t full of freshly-cut King’s Leaf. She dropped the bits into the pot, before grabbing another small bowl full of chopped leeks and vivichokes, dumping that in as well. “You’ve already done so much today, just relax! And all the work is pretty much done, anyways; we just need to wait now.”

With that, Ingo moved to finally sit down with a grunt, at the edge of the irori, finally able to take his weight off his feet. He was silently thankful he could just sit back and rest for a moment. Today had been an exhaustive one, what with the Pearl Clan requesting his help on an icelands hunting trip that was supposed to be over and done by mid-morning, but dragged well into mid-day instead. And by the time he had reached Jubilife Village for whatever was left of his shift at the dojo (excessive rain having begun to pour down halfway there - he knew the sky had been too dark that morning for its own good), Zisu had regretfully let him know work was canceled due to the weather.

Akari had thankfully spotted him leaving the village to return to the highlands, and had asked him to join her in her Jubilife unit to dry off and share some of the soup she was making. He was surprised to see her - she was supposed to be gone on an expedition trip for at least another day - but he was certainly cold, hungry, and exhausted by that point, and very much not looking forward to a long trip back up Mount Coronet, so he had wearily agreed.

“Thank you again for your generosity, Miss Akari,” Ingo slumped forward, the heat of the hearth easing him as the soup began to spread a pleasant scent throughout the room. “I admit, this is much more favorable than traversing up to my highlands station in this current weather.”

“Yeah, well, you looked like you needed someone to give you a break,” Akari half-joked with him as she took a wooden spoon and stirred the contents of the pot a few times, sprinkling some crunchy salt in. Satisfied with the state of the soup, she left it to simmer and moved to sit next to Ingo, the sounds of the rain slicking down the slanted roof of her unit. “And I need someone to share all this soup with!”

————

“These are excellent reports, Miss Akari; very thorough. I’m sure Professor Laventon will appreciate this data. Wild sliggoo are notoriously hard to properly observe.”

Akari gave a small smile as Ingo browsed over her pages of notes, freshly filled out from the expedition she had just gotten back from. She always liked showing Ingo any new observations she had made, as looking over her extensive notes sometimes allowed him to recall some additional information she could add. But, she also knew he took special interest in Hisui’s select species. Just like the voltorb and electrode native to the region, focusing on their differences from what he could dimly remember always intrigued him.

“Hard is an understatement!” Akari glanced over her own notes as well from Ingo’s side, recalling what she had to do to get them as she held her soup secure in her hands. “I couldn’t even get close without them somehow hearing me, and retreating into those big heavy shells of theirs! And you would think they wouldn’t be able to see where they’re going rolling around in them, but they can aim pretty well! Got me good a few times-“

Akari set her bowl down and rolled up one of her black underlayer sleeves as she talked, the survey corps fabric bunching up over it as she showed him a few cuts and bruises she had sustained from scrapes with the sharp metal shells. This caught Ingo’s attention, and his gaze finally drifted off the words and drawings of the page, to the teenager at his side.

“Is all this just from crossing tracks with the sliggoo?” Ingo looked the damage over briefly; it didn’t seem too bad thankfully, but then again, all he could see was her one uncovered arm. Though, he didn’t think she normally got this scraped up from a routine expedition. “Is this why you departed ahead of schedule?”

“Nah, I just finished early.” Akari rolled her sleeve back down to pick her soup back up.“I mean, I sort of rushed it, but I just wanted today off - fieldwork isn’t nearly as fun in the rain. And it’s fine! It’s mostly just soreness now, nothing that won’t heal.”

“Speed but not haste, Miss Akari.” Ingo felt like he had to remind her of that a lot lately. He closed her Pokedex and handed it back to her, so he could pick his own bowl back up and continue eating his soup. “It’s important to maintain safety.”

“Yeah, well if I did that,” Akari tucked her Pokedex back away, “You’d be heading up to the highlands right now with about twenty pounds of rain in your clothes. And I would be too, still trying to get Pokedex pages filled out, and we wouldn’t be sharing this great soup right now, listening to the rain outside while we’re warm inside.”

That earned a small laugh out of Ingo. She wasn’t wrong.

“That certainly tracks,” He stirred what was left in his bowl. “And it would be unfortunate to pass this up - my schedule has not allowed me time to enjoy something like this for a while. The refuel and the maintenance stop are much appreciated.”

Between more frequent hunts with the Pearl Clan, his duties to Lady Sneasler and her kits, and his shifts at the dojo, it had all been constant foot traveling for the last three days. Always walking. Always traversing. Letting the cold cling to him and slip deeper under his skin the longer he immersed himself in the wilderness. No time to stop and eat, either plucking off stunted berries from trees and bushes he happened to walk by, or stuffing potato mochi down on his way out of Jubilife and onto the next destination, being unable to sit down and actually enjoy it. Sleeping in whatever place he happened to be at when the sun set, even if it didn’t exactly have a nice warm bed to comfort him, and ease the pain in his back that would flare up from the cold’s grip.

Akari’s offer for him to come in and sit down, to relax and have a nice meal, was the first time he had been able to really do so in a while.

And it was nice. To take the pressure of walking off his legs and let them rest for once, and relieve the dull throbbing in his feet brought about by traversing rough terrain on worn down shoes. To actually enjoy the taste of his food instead of hastily stuffing down whatever he could get, to simply keep his engine running on his way to the next destination. To let warmth ease him and loosen his tense weariness. While the heated irori thawed his limbs well enough, driving out the deeper frost that had settled into his muscles, the hot soup left a pleasant internal warmth in his body, heating whatever the hearth couldn’t.

“Here, I’ll get you more then,” Akari reached out to take Ingo’s bowl from his hands as he tipped it back and swallowed the last of its contents. “It’s more vegetables than broth, but there’s still some left in the pot.”

“I appreciate it, but I’ve ah, already had seconds,” Ingo tried to object. “And your portions for me have been rather generous. It’s alright. Go ahead and finish it.”

It wasn’t that Ingo found the meal to be unenjoyable. It was genuinely excellent - the best meal he had had in days. Akari had gotten very good with her recipes. He could have had more, but he told himself not to depreciate a comfortable fullness down to a stomachache. But moreso, he just wanted Akari to eat more than the little amount he had seen her put into her own bowl.

On his first serving, he had noticed Akari dumped lots of the larger, tougher soup contents into his bowl - sootfoot roots, leeks, mushrooms - but her own bowl had consisted of smaller chunks amongst mostly broth. It had been easy enough to dismiss, until he noted that she did it again with their second helpings. She wasn’t even really using her spoon, instead opting to sip from the bowl itself. Generally, just eating slower - and less - than she normally did.

Why?

“I’m good,” Akari took one last glance at the soup pot, before moving to sit back down next to Ingo. “It’ll probably just be leftovers then.”

Leftovers? With her typical growing-teenager appetite, the concept of leftovers was practically a foreign one to Akari. Ingo’s gaze flitted over to the sleek orange icebox against the wall - that thing was used more frequently to hold icelands snow than actual food that couldn’t be finished.

“Forgive me for being so upfront Miss Akari, but,” Ingo began, leaning forward to better feel the irori’s heat, as well as get a better look at her face. “are you feeling alright?”

The teenager didn’t have to say anything for Ingo to see the confusion on her face - for her, the question came out of nowhere. Ingo worried insufficient clarity had led to incorrect assumed inferences.

“Apologies, it’s just that it appears you’re, well… drinking more of the soup than you’re eating.” He explained, before repeating himself. “Are you feeling alright?”

Confusion quickly faded, understanding taking its place.

“Oh, no, no!” Akari waved it off. “Like I said earlier, I’m just still a bit sore. My mouth just hurts a little, makes it kinda hard to chew. I’ve been making a lot of soup lately because of it, actually.”

When Akari had said she was sore, Ingo assumed that only extended to achy limbs, and tender muscles. A sore jaw was a bit of a different matter, especially if it influenced what Akari could and couldn’t eat - now he understood why she was mostly just limiting herself to the broth.

The lack of worry in Akari’s voice told Ingo that she didn’t think it was a big deal at all - so much so, that it seemed she didn’t even find it worth mentioning until explicitly asked. She did not appear worried about it, but Ingo couldn’t say the same.

Draugr, the iceland’s territorial alpha mamoswine, had given Ingo the unfortunate opportunity to experience how Hisui deals with dental complications himself.

He did not want to think back on that, and he did not want Akari to have to deal with that agonizing possibility like he did. He had a feeling oral care in Hisui was not nearly as advanced and optimized as it was wherever the two of them had come from, and he was sure Akari was also aware of this to some degree.

“If it’s preventing you from properly eating, perhaps we should go visit Miss Pesselle.” Akari could hear the concern start to bubble up in Ingo’s voice as he shifted to a more attentive position. “When did you first notice the pain?”

“Ingo, it’s ok!” She tried to keep him from getting worried over her. “It started like three days ago, but this happens a lot, trust me; I get roughed up from expedition work, thrown down a few too many times by a wild Pokémon. I knock my jaw maybe, it’s sore for a little bit, but then I get over it. It probably happened when I was out observing the sliggoo. It’s fine, really!”

“I might be inclined to disagree, if it means it obstructs you from having anything else besides soup broth.” Ingo emphasized. “Did you at least perform safety checks, and ensure nothing was damaged? If you’ve possibly cracked a tooth, it must be addressed as soon as possible.”

“Ingo… I didn’t crack a tooth,” Akari dismissed it. She interrupted herself by pushing herself back up onto her feet, and taking their empty bowls in her hands. She was trying to busy herself now. “I’m used to this, really. It’ll go away in a few days.”

She did not check.

Ingo gave her a look telling her he knew she didn’t, which made Akari huff a sigh through her nose as she dropped their dinnerware on her washing table.

“I can’t feel anything sharp with my tongue,” she insisted, her confidence apparently unfaltering as she continued to try and quell Ingo’s worries. She slipped open the lid of her water container, and began to scrub the dishes. “It’s sore, but that’s normal. For me, I mean.”

“Still, it does not hurt to be thorough.” Ingo reasoned. “Something else could require repairs. If you haven’t checked, you cannot know for sure.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Akari simply hummed in acknowledgement as she continued to fret over the dishes. He could tell she was starting to want to drop the subject.

The rain came down against the roof of the warm unit. Busying her hands, no other words were likely to leave Akari’s mouth, while Ingo struggled to get the right string of them out of his.

Perhaps he should talk about it.

“…I had a similar experience, once.” Ingo started after a moment of contemplation, watching Akari needlessly busy herself. “When the Pearl Clan first brought me back to their settlement and were trying to repair the damage that Draugr had caused, they were trying to fix everything they could with haste. They patched me up as best they could, and waited. But as the days went on, it was becoming apparent that something was wrong.”

Akari said nothing, but she stopped scrubbing at the dishes - Ingo could see he had managed to take her nervous energy, and convert it into attention that was trained on him. She always said she didn’t like hearing the more explicit details of his recovery, but by the way she always listened in with a sort of hesitant curiosity, he could tell she said that more for his sake, assuming he had a hard time talking about it.

He did.

It was difficult to think back on that time, and recall how it felt to be so confused and alone.

“I was not eating, or drinking. They could not figure out why, and I regret to say it was because I did not make it easy for them to do so.”

Behavior like that would be laughably unheard of from Ingo now. But at the time, he had known nothing about who or where he was, and all he knew was that he was in an extensive amount of pain, and that he was surrounded by people he did not know or understand, who were endlessly prodding him and just irritating the pain more. It had freaked him out, and admittedly, when he had the strength to, he had become resistant to their invasive monitoring.

“Only once Lady Irida had arrived to check on me herself with a gentler approach, were they able to figure out the issue. I had a cracked tooth, viable for infection, and it needed to be removed.”

“You got a tooth pulled!” Ingo could already hear the flood of excitedly curious requests for him to show her the gap coming.

“It was just a wisdom tooth, its departure did not change much to my cab,” Ingo stopped her in her tracks before she got too far. “It had most likely needed to be removed even before my jaw had a collision with an ice tusk as thick as a tree. But before I knew it, Miss Calaba had checked it over for confirmation, and one of her more eager assistants was already wrenching it out.”

“Oh man,” Akari frowned. “Just pulling it then and there? That sounds… super sucky.”

Akari’s word choice surprised a brief laugh out of Ingo. “It was definitely not favorable, though it could have been much worse. And only due to Lady Irida’s incentive to check herself, were the tracks corrected. It was of utmost importance to be thorough, and to be entirely sure of the situation.”

Akari was starting to bite her cheek, nervousness returning now that the subject was returning back onto the issue at hand, and away from Ingo’s story.

“Miss Akari, I understand your hesitance. I myself have been on that line. Sometimes, maintenance of one’s cab is not an easy track to go down. But if something needs attention, it’s best to attend to it now before it gets worse, and affects the functionality of the rest of the cab… especially with Hisui’s limited medical methods.”

It seemed his own personal example and words of gentle encouragement finally broke through to her. Ingo’s words were followed by a loud silence that drew attention to the sound of muffled rain against the unit’s roof, until Akari let out a deep sigh. Her shoulders slumped, defeated.

“…I know,” she muttered, looking down at her feet for a moment, before turning back to face him. The dishes she once couldn’t get her focus off of were now entirely forgotten behind her. “I know I should probably get it checked. I think my jaw’s fine - it’s my tooth that hurts. I came back early because it was just being so bothersome; I couldn’t really eat anything I found out in the mirelands, so I had to come home. It’s just…”

It was scary.

Ingo could see she found it scary.

“…I know my options are different from what I had back home. If anything, um… happened, my only option would be to get it pulled.” Akari began to explain to him. Her voice was no longer as certain and unfaltering as it was earlier. “And I’ve heard how people manage that whole procedure when they come into Pesselle’s office. I always hear them yelling! And Rei’s told me horror stories about how he’s had to assist her with emergency procedures, just because he was the closest Galaxy Team member nearby. I don’t want to have to get any teeth pulled! I was just hoping to wait and see if it would get better, but… it’s been three days. It’s not.”

A pang of empathy tugged at Ingo’s heart. It was clear now that Akari was just scared - scared that something was irreversibly damaged, and scared that she would have to undergo a worrying procedure that freaked her out. She hadn’t checked out of fear that it would confirm these things.

It was understandable.

Ingo pushed himself back up onto his feet (the heat from the irori was starting to become noticeably uncomfortable anyways) and moved to try and console her - she looked like she was about to start pacing the room out of nervousness.

“You mentioned the soreness only began three days back, correct?” Ingo recalled, putting a hand on Akari’s shoulder. “You may not be experiencing improvement, but that does not give much time for things to worsen. And perhaps nothing is wrong, and it really is just sore. Then we have nothing to worry about. But, we should perform a maintenance check now, and if repair is required, it should be manageable.”

“Yeah,” The complete lack of enthusiasm in Akari’s voice, as well as her glance back at the dishes to her side, told Ingo she would much rather keep avoiding the issue. But she wasn’t, and he appreciated it. “I guess I should.”

“Good.” Ingo encouraged her with a final reassuring pat on the shoulder, before looking around her unit, between the pot of soup and the half-cleaned dishes. “Now, you go check, and I’ll get started on cleaning things up. We can figure out how to navigate the tracks before us once we know what’s going on.”

Akari sucked in a breath and released it, trying to force all her anxiety out with it. “…Ok. I’ll go check.”

Ingo picked up the half-cleaned dishes that Akari had started washing, and began to scrub them clean as she moved into the back section of the unit, where her bed and mirror were set up.

As Ingo scrubbed one of the bowls, occasionally scooping more fresh water out of the table-side container, he fretted over Akari and what she would find.

What if it really was a cracked tooth? She did say she had been bashed around by sliggoo quite a few times… those tough metal shells were not padded at all. He hoped it was nothing more than soreness, but prolonged consistent pain that made it difficult to eat did not sound good.

And removal of a cracked tooth was not fun in the slightest. He should know. It was incredibly painful, even with dulling medicinals, and the throbbing hurt lingered for days afterwards.

But why tell Akari any of this? He hoped nothing was wrong, so that he wouldn’t have to. If something was, then perhaps he would take steps to prepare her for it, but he didn’t want to have to do that.

With the bowls clean, Ingo moved to pick up the soup pot from where it hung over the irori. Looking inside, there was still a small amount left, just enough for about one more bowl. Maybe he should ask Akari if she had something he could store the rest of the soup in-

“Ingo!”

A quick turn of his head, and he spotted Akari standing in front of her bedside mirror, face very close to the glass and thoroughly inspecting her teeth with her head turned at an awkward angle - partially to get the best look at her tooth, and partially to be able to look in the mirror without standing on top of all the assorted junk she had piled around her.

She did love her space-time distortion souvenirs, and often kept all the leftover wrappers and bags neatly stored away. Ingo just had no idea she had so many.

“I think I found the problem!”

“Is it cracked?” Against his wishes, Ingo was beginning to dread the answer, but the fact that she had found something at all worried him.

“No…” Akari pulled the side of her mouth back with a finger, inspecting her teeth again. “I don’t think so? I mean, I definitely see something, but I can’t tell…”

“Allow me to check, if you’d like,” Ingo offered as he approached her, leaving the soup pot behind; now he was curious.

“This one, I think-“ Akari tapped one of her bottom-row bicuspids as she opened her mouth, tugging one of the sides back with a finger, and Ingo lowered down to take a quick peek at it.

Don’t be a cracked tooth, please, don’t be a cracked tooth…

Once he spotted it, Ingo was pleasantly surprised to see that indeed, it was not a cracked tooth.

Instead, it was a developing cavity.

Small and easy to miss, it was not much more than a dark line on the side of her tooth. Thankfully, it was clearly in the early stages of development, and even Ingo could tell that it was not far enough along to be past the point of irreversible damage.

And while a cavity was not a good thing, it certainly was good news to Ingo, considering the alternative. She would not have to lose the tooth.

“Well?” Akari pulled away from him, a little impatient now to know what it was. Ingo could see the concern in her eyes, and it relieved him to know he wouldn’t have to confirm such worries.

“I’m pleased to report that it is not cracked, but there’s a small cavity-“

“-A cavity!”

“Just a small one! It’s in the very early stages, and should be able to be managed without removal. You will be fine if you can stay on top of it.”

“Oh thank Arceus,” Akari heaved a sigh of relief. “So, I can just fix it myself? No tooth pulling?”

“Well, it would still be good to allow Miss Pesselle to take a look at it first, and ensure nothing needs to be done,” Ingo reasoned. “I’d be happy to accompany you if you’d like, but I have a feeling she will simply remind you to brush frequently if she doesn’t think it needs to be pulled.”

“But I already do! I brush my teeth twice a day!” Akari defended herself. “And I rinse! Just like how I always did it at home, and I never got any cavities then!”

Ingo glanced back down at the stacks of empty wrappers and snack bags on the floor. With a sigh, he realized what the problem most likely was, and reached down to pluck one of the bags up from off its stack.

“Well, I regret to inform you that with fuel like this, brushing twice a day might not be enough with Hisui’s dental management methods.” Ingo explained, holding the empty snack bag up. “Current toothpaste may not be enough as is. I recommend you start adding medicinal leek filling to your toothpaste powder until it mends.”

“How do you know that’s going to work?,” Akari frowned as she was handed back the bag, and moved to set it back on its stack.

“You are generous enough to share a considerable amount of these things with me,” Ingo reminded her. “And Miss Calaba was not pleased at all when she discovered I had added such things to my diet. But undeniably, she is very knowledgeable when it comes to medicinals and treatments. Trust me, it is effective.”

Akari made a face, most likely imagining how bitter the toothpaste would become once leek filling was added to it, but Ingo could see that she was ultimately relieved to have such a relatively easy solution to her problem.

“…Alright. I’ll, um… I’ll go see Pesselle when the rain stops, and get it checked out. And I guess I need to pick up some more leeks as well. Would you come with me?”

The heavy, constant rain pattering against the roof of the unit didn’t sound like it was going to stop anytime soon. They’d be here for a while if they were to wait for it to let up, but Ingo didn’t have anywhere else to go for today. And he would not leave her after she asked him to stay - he knew she was looking for a source of comfort.

“Of course, Miss Akari.”

#submas #Ingo #warden Ingo #Akari #Pokemon Akari #Pokémon legends arceus #Pokémon legends #Pokemon legends #Pokemon legends arceus #pokemon #pokemon fanfiction #pokemon fanfic #waywardstationfanfic #to anon who requested Ingo have a good time #I hope you’re feeling better and that this new year is very nice to you!!!!#the dental stuff with this one was difficult to figure out #you can read my thoughts about it at the bottom notes of the AO3 version if you’d like

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